


Nothing So Simple

by InTheShadows



Series: StarkBucks Bingo 2020 Fills [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: (only brief use of such), Alternate Universe - Fantasy, BAMF Tony Stark, Blood Magic, Don't copy to another site, Gen, Ritual Circles, Shades, Shadow Winter Solider, Shadows - Freeform, Witch Tony Stark, Worldbuilding, as per usual, hydra is a dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:35:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28411014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InTheShadows/pseuds/InTheShadows
Summary: Tony is aware of the presence as soon as it arrives. It has been stalking him for a fortnight now, but now he is ready. With a flick of his wrist it is contained in the circle. A shade. Oh goody. Tonydoesso hope that means someone is out to get him. That is alwayssuchfun. Really. Please note the sarcasm. Well Tony's sarcasm isn't going to banish the shade by itself, no matter how nice that would be. Time to get to work.Now if only things were as they appeared to be.
Relationships: Tony Stark & Winter Solider
Series: StarkBucks Bingo 2020 Fills [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2070447
Comments: 3
Kudos: 54
Collections: StarkBucksBingo2020





	Nothing So Simple

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Nothing So Simple  
> Collaborator Name: InTheShadows  
> Link: [Nothing So Simple](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28411014)  
> Square Filled: O3/crossroads  
> Ship/Main Pairing: Tony Stark & Winter Solider  
> Rating: G  
> Major Tags & Triggers: Witch Tony Stark, Fantasy AU, Shadow Winter Solider  
> Summary: Tony is aware of the presence as soon as it arrives. It has been stalking him for a fortnight now, but now he is ready. With a flick of his wrist it is contained in the circle. A shade. Oh goody. Tony _does_ so hope that means someone is out to get him. That is always _such_ fun. Really. Please note the sarcasm. Well Tony's sarcasm isn't going to banish the shade by itself, no matter how nice that would be. Time to get to work.  
> Now if only things were as they appeared to be.  
> Word Count: 2,085

Tony becomes aware of the presence soon after it appears. The gem around his neck warms in warning, but he seemingly pays it no heed, going on with his work, He doesn’t look up even as the presence comes closer. Not yet. He’ll only have one chance at this before the element of surprise is gone. Deliberately he keeps himself relaxed and loose. 

Closer, closer it comes. Almost - almost -

When it comes to stand right beside Tony he springs into action. The mixture of herbs and crystals are flying at it, the runes flare to life and the scent of sage fills the room. The presence is trapped. 

For the first time since this thing began stalking Tony he is able to get a good look at it. A shade. It hisses at Tony in anger. Tony steps closer and it shows teeth. He pays it no mind. It cannot escape the circle now that it is activated. Only Tony himself can release it - and he is _not_ inclined to do so. Shades are nasty things. Who knows what sort of mischief this one has managed before it turned to prey on Tony. 

“Release me,” it demands as if it is in a position to do so. 

Tony ignores it and keeps on with his examination. Shades are difficult to dispel even after they are captured. They are creatures of malice - you need a stronger counterpart to overwhelm them, to unravel that malice. Fortunately for him, Tony has always been exceptionally clever. What he cannot do in emotions. He makes do with something else. 

“Who sent you?” 

All he gets is another hiss in answer. 

Yeah, that’s basically what he thought. It would be nice to know if he is being targeted specifically or not, but he’ll just have to figure that out the old fashion way. He sweeps around the room, gathering what he needs from various shelves and tables. The sooner he can get this done, the sooner he can move on to other, more important things. 

Plus he is witch enough to admit that the shade unnerves him. It has been watching him, off and on, for at least a fortnight now. At first he didn’t even realize what it was, just that it was there. It wasn’t constantly hovering either, which made it harder still to identify and prepare for. That doesn’t mean it was an easy experience however. His nerves are just about to the end of their limits. They wouldn’t have been able to take much more. 

It is almost over now. The end of all this is here. He finishes the mixture and begins to paint the runes on the ground just outside the circle. Each one glows once he is finished with it. Soon enough it is complete, making them all flare brightly. 

Tony begins to chant and the shade swipes at him, long claws made out of darkness slashing uselessly through the air. The words vibrate in his chest. 

“No,” the shade snarls, fighting for survival. 

It doesn’t work. Tony is stronger. With the last word he draws the final rune in the air. It shines blindingly, filling the entire room with light. Tony has to shield his eyes, unable to look. He hears the shade give a final, agonized cry and -

\- fall to the floor when Tony looks down at what should be an empty, dead circle. 

It is a crumpled heap, unable to hold itself up anymore. There is a fine trembling racking through its entire body. 

It didn’t work? Impossible. It had to of. Everything went right - because it is usually devastatingly and terrifyingly obvious when it doesn’t. The fact that Tony is still standing here, whole and unharmed, should be proof enough that it should. A closer look at the runes show that they are burnt out, as if they have been scorched into the floor itself. 

Then it lifts its eyes to meet Tony’s and he understands. Oh. _Oh_ . Not a shade - a _shadow_. A shadow that someone was trying very hard to make look like a shade. Interesting. 

He squats down to peer closer at it. Gone is the anger and the feral look. The viciousness and the violence seems to have been drained out of it too. It - he, no, now it is clear that it is a he and not a formless thing, although it is hard to say how he knows male is the correct gender - stays silent. He doesn’t snarl and he doesn’t beg. Whether it is because he has no energy or because he has no desire, Tony isn’t sure. 

Replaced now is a wary and yet strangely blank look in his eyes. 

“Who are you?” 

Silence.

Okay, we’re going in the opposite direction then. There are two choices now - either Tony can allow the shadow to fade away or he can feed it. Mentally he flinches away from the former. Shadows are different than shades. Shades are masses of darkness, meant to destroy. Shadows, on the other hand, are a part of every person. A piece of their soul, if you believe in that sort of thing. Certainly a piece of who they are. Their essence and life force. _That_ is real enough, especially for a witch like Tony. 

To rip someone’s shadow away from them -

To force it into a shade -

Well, Tony has no real choice in the matter. Behavior like this cannot be allowed to continue. Whoever is doing this must be stopped. This is one of the top five signs to beware of in witches. Anyone who creates a shade - in any form - is usually someone to be wary of. So Tony needs to know now. 

That doesn’t mean he has to like it though. 

Standing up he retrieves his obsidian knife before sitting back down again. Expertly he slices the palm of his hand in a shallow cut. Blood immediately begins to flow from it. 

The shadow eyes it hungrily, longing showing through beside wariness. 

Tony holds his eyes when he glances up. “Will you obey if I give this to you?” 

The wariness increases tenfold. “What is the price?” His voice is rough. 

Well that is understandable. It can’t be pleasant, being made a shade. Who knows what it was forced to do until now. “Answers,” he says, “You answer my questions, you do not harm me or mine, you harm no innocence.” 

“What if you do not like my answers?” 

Yup, unpleasant would be the least of it, then. How terribly encouraging. “Oh sweetheart, I can already guarantee you that I won’t like them. That doesn’t mean I’ll blame you. I have a standing policy against shooting the messenger. Makes for bad business you know.”

He nods, only half convinced. “Yes.” 

Slowly, carefully, he thrusts his hand into the circle. The runes flare, but do not break. 

The shadow is on him in an instant, drinking greedily. He cups Tony’s hand to his mouth and sucks as fast as the cut will allow. 

It’s an interesting sensation, being eaten out like this. It doesn’t hurt - it almost tingles really - but Tony can still feel the life and power being drained out of him. As he said, needs must, but this is not an experience he is in a hurry to repeat. Yuck. When he begins to feel slightly light headed he pulls his hand away. 

The shadow whines, clearly unhappy, but doesn’t fight to keep it. He is much more solid now. Substantial. No longer does he lay crumpled to the floor, but sits up straight. Proud. There is a fierce expression on his face. 

“Who made you?” Tony asks, getting right to the point. 

He scowls. “No one made me. I am my own.” 

Touche. Okay then. “Who stole you? Who turned you into a shade? There. Is that better for you?”

The scowl deepens, but he answers. “Hydra.”

A chill runs down Tony’s spine. The Hydra Clan. One of the worst clans of witches out there. No one knows all of the atrocities they have committed because not everyone has lived to tell their tale. _Shit_. Hydra. Now the next big question - “Did they send you after me?” If they did then he is in even bigger trouble than he realized. 

“No.”

Oh that’s a relief. 

“They have sent me after strong enough or influential enough witches in general to either recruit or destroy. They do not want any rebels when they rise to power.” 

Never mind then. He isn’t sure if that is any better or not, but either way it is still bad. Very bad. “Why come to me?” 

He shrugs. “I needed a strong enough witch to either stop me or kill me. Hydra is afraid of you. You would suffice.” 

“Thank you?” Honestly he isn’t sure whether he is being complimented or not. It sounds like he is - mostly. On the other hand... Ugh, no, that’s not the most important part right now. 

“Are you going to kill me now?” 

What? “ _What_?” he blurts out, “Why would I kill you?” 

“I was going to kill you.” 

“But you didn’t.” 

“I would have. Make no mistake - if you had not succeeded then I would have, just as I killed the others. Then I would have gone on killing until I was stopped or I finished my mission. I was a shade. A shade brings nothing but death and destruction in its wake.” 

Why is this even turning into an argument anyways? “Do you want to die?” 

“It hasn’t mattered what I wanted in a long time.” 

It is said so simply, plainly, like it doesn’t matter one way or another. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t make Tony’s heart ache to hear. “No, no I’m not going to kill you,” he shakes his head, “None of that is your fault. You didn’t have a choice.” 

“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t my hands they used.” 

Point. Tony isn’t going to argue - right now anyways - because he can sense that is not an argument that is quickly won. “I would rather stop the person who stole you in the first place.” 

“Zola. One of Hydra’s most powerful.” 

And most sadistic. Oh yes, Tony has heard that name before. That this man does it in the name of discovery does not make him any less of an evil bastard. 

Finally, suddenly, Tony’s manners catches up with him and he asks, “What’s your name?” 

“I was stolen from James.” 

“Yeah, okay, that’ll be useful later when we go looking for him, but what is _your_ name? What do you want to go by?” He knows better than to ask for a true name. That is far too much power and responsibility right there, if ever someone was stupid enough to give him one. 

“Look for him? You would reunite us?” There is no small amount of shock in his voice. 

Rude. So rude. What does he take Tony for? “Yeah, sure, unless you want to fade anyways,” he waves off. A shadow cannot be separated from their body forever. Eventually the shadow will fade and the body will either die or live a half life as long as it breathes. Obviously Tony isn’t going to let that happen. “A name?” 

The shadow considers him carefully. “Yasha,” he finally answers. 

“Yasha, good, great,” Tony nods, “Now if I let you out are you going to help me take down Hydra and reunite yourself? Or are you going to be an annoying little bastard instead?” Maybe the last part isn’t fair, Yasha has been nothing but helpful so far, but there is something in his eyes that says he can be, if he wants. 

Yasha continues to consider him. “Why? This is not your fight. Hydra cannot be destroyed. Cut off one head and another two will grow.” 

“And yet their symbol is a scary looking octopus instead. They can’t be that smart, now can they?” Sure, yes, he can see where this would seem random - or potentially even reckless - but it’s not. Frankly this fight has been a long time in coming. 

Yasha’s lips twitch into something like a smirk. “You should tell them that.” 

“I will.” It’s been something that has been bothering him for a while now. 

Another pause. “Deal, if only so that I can see their faces when you do.” He sticks out his hand. 

Well there are certainly worse reasons. “Deal.” Tony takes it. 

The runes flare one final time and then fall. 

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, this is one of those stories that can be easily expanded. I'm not sure if I ever will, but I am aware of it's potential.


End file.
